Do Masks Really Prevent the Spread of COVID?

First, I have to start this article by saying COVID is a very real virus and it is deadly, if you are elderly, have a weak immune system, and smoke or have a lung disorder. Don’t be fooled by the gossip people, this is not political, it’s not racial, and it’s not terrorism. It’s a real virus that has been around for decades, if you don’t believe me, grab a can of Lysol spray from under your kitchen sink and read the label. Somewhere in the fine print it lists all the different viruses Lysol kills, and believe it or not, Coronaviruses are on that list. oh, and no COVID won’t go away after the 2020 Presidential Election, it was here before Trump, before Obama, before Bush, before Clinton, before Bush Sr, before Reagan, so on and so forth, you get the picture. COVID-19 is a coronavirus it’s just a slightly different strain than we’ve seen in the past. You could say it’s more evolved and the latest studies show it could be targeting specific blood types, but that’s not what I am here to discuss.

Now that I’ve given some background let’s dive in. The US and most other parts of the world are almost 6 months into “the pandemic” and all countries, states, territories and provinces have chosen to deal with it in similar but different ways. For us in the United States, the CDC recommends everyone where a face mask and practice social distancing at a distance of 6ft or more (2 meters for my international readers). I don’t mind the social distancing, it has been a godsend in the fact that it has taught people to give others space. Lines at Supermarkets, Malls and Airports are less dense, and people aren’t touching each other anymore. I don’t mind the plastic/plexiglas shield screens in front of everyone at the registers, it’s fine and doesn’t hurt anyone. What I do mind and where the public has been fooled more than anything else ever before is this whole ridiculous mask order. 

The type of masks most people are wearing are not of the N95 type, nor are they respirators with particulate filters that can filter out viruses, bacteria, fungi, metals, dust, and microscopic particles. The little blue hospital masks that are so popular don’t do shit! They don’t stop viruses from escaping someone’s mouth, they don’t stop bacteria from escaping. Despite the fact they don’t prevent the spread of germs and viruses they are so often infested with bacteria and coronaviruses because people keep wearing the same masks everyday, everywhere, collecting tons of germs along the way. Think about that again, these masks, unless they are 3M N95 they DO NOT stop the spread of COVID-19, flu, other viruses, bacteria, fungi, and molds. So, what’s the point in wearing them you ask?? Well, they do stop saliva and breath moisture droplets from flying out of your mouth into someone elses. But wait, couldn’t we accomplish the same thing via social distancing?? Yep! If you stay at least 4-6ft (1.5-2meters) away from others, you won’t have to worry about someone spitting in your mouth.

What blows my mind is how scared the public is of coronavirus when the vast majority of people will experience little to no symptoms at all. It really makes me wonder why people didn’t walk around in Hazmat suits to keep from catching aids! HIV is WAY more scary than COVID, it’s a life changing virus, and it is highly contagious. If someone Who has AIDs spit in your mouth or bled on you, you would have AIDS. Could you imagine never being able to have children because you can’t be intimate with someone if you have AIDS or you risk giving them the virus and sentencing that person to death. As a society we have literally allowed the government and media to scare us into cowering into our houses, staying away from each other, and covering our bodies and faces. When did the US come under Sharia Law? We are not an Islamic nation! No one can tell you what you can and can’t wear. Now please understand that privately owned businesses can and most likely WILL refuse to serve you if you don’t wear a mask. But public entities don’t have that same ability, if it’s not a law in your city, town, county or state, they can’t refuse you service for not wearing a mask. Seriously people, wake the fuck up and quit doing everything you are being told! It reminds me of the 90s when Bill Clinton said you could get AIDS by shaking someone’s hands. Everyone freaked out and started wearing latex gloves everywhere they went until the CDC came out and said, “you can’t catch HIV by shaking hands with someone, you must exchange saliva or blood for the infection to spread.” These mask rules are the same thing, bad information, given to the public as a scare tactic, just to see how easy it is to make the majority of the public do something.   It’s no different than if the media told us, “if you don’t wear a hat, you’ll get pregnant”, then everyone started wearing hats. It’s bad information, spread purposefully as a scare tactic.

Whether you agree or disagree with anything I’ve said, I will share with you why I decided to write the rant. I’ve been a subservient coward like the rest of you wearing your masks in public, and I wear a mask when I go into a store if the sign says you have to. Today my wife and I flew across the country with a layover in Chicago. TSA is requiring everyone to keep a mask on their face unless they are eating or drinking. So we had to wear masks for 6hrs straight. I’ve never been claustrophobic, and I often tell my wife her claustrophobia is in her head because she panics if she’s in the closet picking her clothes out and I walk in and block the doorway. But I will tel you I am claustrophobic when I wear a mask in a confined area like a plane. I started to panic, I couldn’t breathe and it didn’t help that the air was stagnant and hot. Wearing a mask makes my face feel all muggy and humid and I can’t breathe correctly, not to mention the rubber straps really hurt the tops of my ears when worn for any length of time. 

This morning we get into an Uber to go to the airport. The driver looks at me and says, “can you please put on a mask sir?” I said, “yes I have one and will but could I please eat my breakfast first?” He said that was fine, but I could tell he didn’t like the fact I was in his backseat without a mask. He cracked the window in front of me to flow air my way so it would keep my “poisonous” breath from building up. Maybe he realized the blue hospital mask he was wearing won’t prevent viruses like everyone seems to think?! After I finished my bagel, I promptly put a new 3M N95 masks on. 30mins later we arrive at the airport and the mask was cutting the skin above my ears, so I pull my bandana out, take the mask off and I walk into the airport sporting my bandana cowboy style. Look like I’m ready to rob a bank we went through security and made our way to our gate. Once on the plane the the stewards told us we had to keep the masks on unless we were eating or drinking. I took a break for a few minutes while I sipped a coke, then back on the mask went. Two and a half hours later we land in Chicago, by this time my face was sweating and hot and muggy, my chest was sweating and I had to get out of the mask. We walked through O’hare with my mask down below my mouth until we found a restaurant. I wasn’t even hungry but I ordered just so I would have an excuse to get out of my mask. Our flight to Chicago was on a Boeing 777 and it was only half full, so we had plenty of room to stretch out and stand. But our flight from Chicago on “Wisconsin Air” was on a small Canadair Plane three seats across. It was so small, hot and full. We ended up sitting in the back row by the restroom (my wife is cheap and won’t upgrade even for the $8 it cost to upgrade this flight). FYI people - the CDC does NOT recommend sitting in the back of a plane or near the restroom as this an area of high contact with other people. But since my wife and I know that COVID is not near as bad as the flu or Tuberculosis (both of which are much more contagious than COVID) she ignored the warning. I started having a panic attack and for the first time in my life I experienced claustrophobia, I had to take the mask off and let the cool air blow on my face. Luckily we were in the back of the plane and it was a one stewardess flight so no one saw or bugged me about it.   

Today was the first time I had to wear a mask for almost 8hrs and I am done! The government can’t tell me I have to cover my face, or what I have to wear. It’s a free country and I’m free to make my own decisions. If you are a scared, liberal, coward who can’t make up your own mind and are frightened you’ll catch COVID, then please wear a mask, because when you see me out in public, I won’t have one on. I promise not to spit in your mouth or sneeze in your face because I’m a normal person who has manners and respect for other human beings. 

Please feel free to comment and let me know what you think about these ridiculous mask ordinances and rules. Do you like it or hate it? Do you think we will have to wear masks the rest of our lives? Let’s discuss. Take care and God Bless America!

RIP Gary Crow

I hadn't posted in a long while, and the reason being this time around is because for the last year, I had been spending a lot of my time with my Mom and Dad.  On February 6th, 2020 at 9:19pm my father, Gary Crow, breathed his last breath and then closed his eyes.  Dad was just 5 days shy of turning 65. He had battled with MDS (Myleodysplastic Syndrome) since 2010.  MDS is a form of Leukemia that affects the bone marrows ability to produce blood cells.  His marrow was shot, it wasn't producing blood cells at all.  Over the past 10 years the answer was to give him periodic blood transfusions, and chemo injections.  Early 2019, at his doctors recommendation, we re-visited the idea of a Bone Marrow transplant.  Dad's condition was worsening, and the doctors basically said, if you don't do this, you will die in 6 months.  We opted for the Bone Marrow transplant, and my sister and I went and immediately got tested to see if we were compatible. Unfortunately we were not, but they found a 100% match in Germany, a 23 year old donor.

August of 2019, Mom and Dad temporarily moved in with Kristin and I, as he began his pre-treatment at MD Anderson.  In September Dad was admitted, and the bone marrow transplant happened.  It worked, it went well, and was uneventful.  They let Dad out of the hospital by the end of October, on the condition that he would visit a couple times a week for check-ups.  By Thanksgiving the donor cells had fully grafted with Dad's cells, and his body had accepted the new tissue....at least that's what the doctors told us. Keep in mind that Dad is on a LOT of different medications throughout this process: Anti-Virals, Anti-Fungals, Anti-Bacterials, Anti-Rejection, Immunosuppressants, among other things.  This is a normal regimen for Cancer, Leukemia, and transplant patients.  The goal here is to ensure nothing attacks the body while the body gets used to the new (donor tissue), and to keep all immune systems turned off so that they don't' attack anything while the body becomes acclimated to the new tissue. There were a few things that the doctors just didn't do anything about though.  Dad had not eaten since before his transplant. By Thanksgiving it had been 3 months (90 days) since he last had a meal.  He would take a bite of something and drink a Gatorade, but that was it. No food, no nutrition.  However, everytime we told the doctors, they would test him and say he was not malnourished.

By Christmas, Dad had lost 60lbs and of course, was still not eating.  He was taken off the Immunosuppressants on Dec. 22nd.  The idea here was that the new tissue and DNA were active and it's time to turn his immune system back on. The next day, Dad began to lose movement in his feet.  He began to fall and by Christmas day he could not lift his legs to get in bed or into the truck.  We thought it was Muscle Atrophy because of the fact he wasn't eating.  The last week of January Mom called me and said that Dad had not gotten out of bed for a week, was just laying there wasting on himself so she was taking him to MD Anderson.  You can see from the timeline, he was dead within 3 weeks of arriving at MD Anderson.  MD Anderson could not explain the condition, all the would call it was an ascending paralysis, a type of neuropathy.  He tested positive for absolutely NOTHING.  They ran every test they had, and I watched him lose control of his body as he laid there. The first few days he was able to use his hands and text and type on his phone, then he couldn't move his hands, then arms, and then his neck, and it just kept going up.

My father's life was stolen from him, he was too young, and he didn't deserve to suffer the way he did.  You know how people have this idea of how things will be years from now, or how life will turn out? I remember as a kid watching my Dad and his father (Pappaw) and all the great things they go to do together. I have had this plan in my head the last 5-10 years that my Dad and I were going to do all of those things he got to do with his Dad.  I was planning to take him on an Exotic Game Hunt, and I always wanted to take Kristin and go on a cruise with my parents.  When I was younger, during Holidays, the women would go off and go shopping together, and then the guys would go and do their thing. Those moments I spent with my Dad and my Pappaw were priceless.  I don't have children at the moment, but I already am sad that my children will not get those memories.  Birthdays and Holidays just won't be the same without Dad.

My Dad was a great man and everything he did, he did for my Mother, my sister, and for me.  Sometimes we take for granted the fact we have parents, but if you are lucky enough to have BOTH of your parents, you should pick the phone up and call them EVERY SINGLE DAY and do everything you can to spend as much time with them as possible.  If you are like me and only have one parent left, then you need to love that parent twice as much, because I can promise you, as much as Dad's death hurts me, it hurts my mom more.  I only wish I had spent more time with my parents, and talked to them more. I can't bring Dad back, and I can't go back in time, but what I can do is make sure I spend more time with my Mom so that I don't feel the same way when she passes on some day in the distant future.  Cherish the time you have with your loved ones and tell them how much you love them, because the time you have with them is limited.